Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Division Engineering of Adaptive Systems
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS, Division Engineering of Adaptive Systems
Funkvernetzte Automation
© Oliver Killig

Research Topics

© Oliver Killig

Analysis, design, and development of wireless IoT systems

Developers and users of wireless-networked IoT systems in industry face numerous challenges. These include changing propagation conditions, the complex process of selecting wireless technology and hardware components (chips), and the need not only to achieve optimum configuration and control of wireless components for the efficient use of wireless connections but also to take account of interference from neighboring wireless systems.

Particularly when it comes to implementing wireless systems in process-critical applications, there is often a lack of transparency regarding the connection status in order to detect emerging malfunctions and adopt countermeasures. Moreover, the process of fault analysis is extremely complex in wireless systems because it requires the examination of numerous potential causes of error. This is the only way to ensure quick and reliable wireless communication in industry.

Fraunhofer IIS provides individual solutions for the analysis and setup of IoT wireless systems – and uses AI methods, for example, to analyze wireless communication between participants as well as to identify and classify anomalies and faults. Our analyses also provide accurate information regarding the utilization of wireless networks, thereby highlighting excess capacity that is available for new services or for boosting the speed of the network.

Identifying and rectifying problems in IoT wireless systems at the development stage

We can also test the reliability and robustness of wireless connections of IoT products during the development process. Indeed, specialized measurement and analysis equipment is available for this purpose, paving the way for the scrutiny of wireless transmission by IoT devices in automated, reproducible tests. Our measurement technology allows us to reconstruct specific wireless environments in a reproducible manner and therefore examine the stability and robustness of IoT devices in the deployment environment. This approach enables early detection of problems and weak points that can then be rectified during the development phase of IoT products.

Our services for setting up wireless IoT systems

We assist you with the product development of wireless-networked IoT systems – from system design to development and the validation of wireless networking:

  • Advisory services to support IoT system development
  • Measurement services for wireless communication systems with respect to performance, reliability, reserves, and fault diagnosis
  • Measurement services for validation tests of wireless IoT systems
  • Tailored measurement systems for measurement campaigns and automatic test setups

Contact us for an individual quote.

Our services for the set-up of radio based IoT systems

Our wireless (analysis) solutions for industrial companies

UWIN – Wireless Real-time Communication with Highest Reliability

The highly reliable real-time wireless technology UWIN developed at Fraunhofer IIS is particularly well suited for industrial applications. It is more responsive than 5G technology, making it ideal for motion control.

 

© funfunphoto - fotolia.de / editing Fraunhofer IIS

Wireless Technology UWIN

Read more about UWIN

Wireless Network Analyzer – fault detection for wireless-networked automation

Many wireless technologies fail to deliver the necessary reliability for industrial applications. It is important that users are able to inform themselves about the types and causes of problems occurring in a network. With this in mind, the team at Fraunhofer IIS provides an analysis tool for wireless networks that delivers and evaluates transparent information on the status of a wireless system.

 

 

REad More on the Wireless Network Analyzer [PDF]

 

RF Vision – 24/7 real-time surveillance system for industrial wireless communication

Fraunhofer IIS has developed a surveillance system for 24/7 monitoring of radio frequency bands used for wireless communication. Suitable for stationary and mobile surveillance scenarios, the system provides a comprehensive overview of which wireless systems are active, in which frequency channels, and to what extent. It also provides information on interference between neighboring wireless communication systems and can alert the service team. The system therefore paves the way for applications such as the analysis and optimization of wireless systems in industrial buildings.

More on 24/7 real-time monitoring system for industrial radio communication (pdf)

 

Analysis system for Bluetooth LE-networked IoT systems

Fraunhofer IIS provides a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) analysis system to support the development of IoT products with BLE interfaces. The analysis system consists of a BLE sniffer that captures surrounding BLE traffic and a computer that analyzes the captured traffic.

Available to rent, the system can be integrated into automated test systems and manual testing in order to ensure efficient use of the BLE connection of IoT products.

Factsheet: analysis system for Bluetooth LE-networked IoT systems (pdf)

Successful Cooperations

At this point, some of our customers who have already been convinced by our services will have their say.

Customer statement Audi on wireless-networked automation

Audi AG

»The measurement methods of Fraunhofer IIS/EAS are a great support for us to permanently monitor our WiFi systems in the direct production area and to identify and eliminate weak points. The analyses performed provide significantly more precise insights into the state of our WiFi infrastructure than the tools previously available on the market. By including the individual view of our applications in network-quality, we get an analysis result that is better tailored to us.«
Customer statement FSD on wireless-networked automation
The specialized measurement technology and the innovative measurement and analysis methods of Fraunhofer IIS enabled us to gain an even more detailed insight into the radio networking of our products. Thanks to their outstanding expertise in the diagnosis of wireless systems, we were able to significantly improve the user-friendliness of the specification information system.

References and more Information

Video Series: To the Point

What actually is Private 5G for Industry

Our expert Dr. Andreas Frotzscher describes it in this video concisely.

Reference project

VERITAS

Digitization and increased flexibility in production promise to deliver efficiency and productivity gains. A key process in this development is automatic interaction between machines. The goal of the VERITAS project is to explore solutions for simple, fail-proof development of such systems.

 

 

© artstudio_pro / Fotolia

Information Material

Reference project

fast-automation

Together with partners, Fraunhofer IIS/EAS is working on the development of a real-time wireless communication system in unlicensed radio frequency bands. Various industrial automation applications should profit from this work.

Reference project

SATURN

The SATURN project aimed to develop today's sensor systems using real-time connectivity, which are needed for the development, manufacture and testing of tactile intelligent systems. The goal was to provide preliminary work for the Tactile Internet.